Augmented reality system for an amusement ride

ABSTRACT

An augmented reality system for an amusement ride includes a facial recognition sensor that detects a guest&#39;s face, a skeletal recognition sensor that detects a guest&#39;s body, a presence sensor that detects a guest&#39;s presence, and a controller. The controller includes a processor and a memory. The controller is configured to generate an augmented reality animation based on a first signal indicative of the guest&#39;s presence received from the presence sensor. In response to receiving a second signal indicative of the guest&#39;s body from the skeletal recognition sensor, the controller is configured to update the augmented reality animation based on the guest&#39;s body. Further, in response to receiving a third signal indicative of the guest&#39;s face from the facial recognition sensor, the controller is configured to update the augmented reality animation based on the guest&#39;s face.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/735,754, entitled “Augmented RealitySystem For An Amusement Ride” and filed Sep. 24, 2018, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to an augmented reality system,and more particularly to an augmented reality system for an amusementride.

Generally, an amusement ride may include a ride vehicle and a ride path.The ride vehicle may move along the ride path and may carry guests. Theamusement ride may also include a display that may provide certainimages along the ride path to be viewed by the guests. For example, thedisplay may provide certain animations, videos, augmented realityimages, and other images. For certain rides, the guests may interactwith the display to control the image. However, due to the complexity ofsome amusement rides, the display may not be configured to provide animage to the guest throughout the amusement ride. Additionally, theability of the guests to interact with the displayed images on certainamusement rides may be limited.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the disclosed subjectmatter are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limitthe scope of the disclosure, but rather these embodiments are intendedonly to provide a brief summary of certain disclosed embodiments.Indeed, the present disclosure may encompass a variety of forms that maybe similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

In certain embodiments, an augmented reality system for an amusementride includes a facial recognition sensor that detects a guest's face, askeletal recognition sensor that detects a guest's body, a presencesensor that detects a guest's presence, and a controller. The controllerincludes a processor and a memory. The controller is configured togenerate an augmented reality animation based on a first signalindicative of the guest's presence received from the presence sensor. Inresponse to receiving a second signal indicative of the guest's bodyfrom the skeletal recognition sensor, the controller is configured toupdate the augmented reality animation based on the guest's body.Further, in response to receiving a third signal indicative of theguest's face from the facial recognition sensor, the controller isconfigured to update the augmented reality animation based on theguest's face.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of an amusement ride system, inaccordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of an augmented reality system ofthe amusement ride system of FIG. 1 including a display assembly with anaugmented reality animation, in accordance with an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of an augmented reality system ofthe amusement ride system of FIG. 1 including multiple displayassemblies with individual augmented reality animations, in accordancewith an aspect of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process for generating,updating, and providing the augmented reality animation for theaugmented reality system of FIG. 2, in accordance with an aspect of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed below. In an effort to provide a concise description of theseembodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not bedescribed in the specification. It should be appreciated that in thedevelopment of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering ordesign project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madeto achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended tomean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Anyexamples of operating parameters and/or environmental conditions are notexclusive of other parameters/conditions of the disclosed embodiments.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure include an amusement ridesystem having an augmented reality system. In certain embodiments, theamusement ride system and/or the augmented reality system includesensors configured to detect a guest's face, body, presence, or acombination thereof, while the guest rides in a ride vehicle of theamusement ride system. For example, a facial recognition sensor maydetect a guest's face and/or body, a skeletal recognition sensor maydetect the guest's body, and a presence sensor may detect the guest'spresence in the ride vehicle. Each sensor may output signals to acontroller of the augmented reality system. Based on the signalsreceived from the sensors, the augmented reality system may generate anaugmented reality animation and may provide the augmented realityanimation to a display assembly disposed adjacent to and/or on the ridevehicle. For example, the display assembly may include a screen that isviewable by the guest. As such, the augmented reality system and/or theamusement ride system may detect the guest's face, body, presence, or acombination thereof, generate the augmented reality animation, anddisplay the augmented reality animation for viewing by the guest. Incertain embodiments, the augmented reality system may continuouslydetect the guest's face, body, presence, or any combination thereof, andmay generate and provide the augmented reality animation based on theguest's face, body, presence, or the combination thereof, to allow theguest to interact with and/or control the augmented reality animationthroughout at least a portion of the amusement ride system.

With the foregoing in mind, the present embodiments relating to anaugmented reality system may be utilized in any amusement ride system.For example, FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of an amusement ridesystem 10. As illustrated, the amusement ride system 10 includes a ridevehicle 12 having one or more seats 13. The ride vehicle 12 maygenerally travel along a ride path 14 in a direction 15 and may carryguests 16 through the amusement ride system 10. For example, the guests16 may be seated in the seats 13 and may be restrained by seatrestraints 18 as the ride vehicle 12 travels through the amusement ridesystem 10. The seat restraints 18 may be a lap bar, a seat belt, anoverhead restraint, another type of seat restraint, or a combinationthereof. In the illustrated embodiment, the ride vehicle 12 includesfour seats 13, though the ride vehicle 12 may include a different numberof seats in other configurations. Additionally, in certain embodiments,the amusement ride system 10 may include additional ride vehicles 12(e.g., two ride vehicles 12, three ride vehicles 12, four ride vehicles12).

As illustrated, the ride path 14 is a rail system having a trackdefining the motion of the ride vehicle 12. However, in otherembodiments, the ride path 14 may be a path along a floor of theamusement ride system 10 or may be another system configured to carryand/or guide the ride vehicle 12. For example, the ride vehicle 12 maybe an automobile, and the ride path 14 may be a pathway configured toguide the ride vehicle 12. Additionally, the ride vehicle 12 isillustrated with the guests 16 facing sideways toward display assemblies20 and generally crosswise (e.g., perpendicular) to the direction 15. Incertain embodiments, the guests 16 may be positioned to face along thedirection 15 such that the display assemblies 20 are at a side of theguests 16. In certain embodiments, the guests 16 may change positionwhile moving along the ride path 14 and/or while stationary on the ridepath 14. For example, the guests 16 may change from the illustratedside-facing position to a front-facing position and/or to anotherposition.

The display assemblies 20 may be coupled and/or mounted to a side of theride vehicle 12 such that the display assemblies 20 move with the ridevehicle 12 as the ride vehicle 12 moves along the ride path 14.Additionally or alternatively, the display assemblies 20 may be coupledand/or mounted to the ride path 14 such that the ride vehicle 12 maypass by the display assemblies 20 as the ride vehicle 12 moves along theride path 14 in the direction 15. In some embodiments, the displayassemblies 20 may be positioned generally in front of the ride vehicle12 along the direction 15 such that guests 16 facing forward along thedirection 15 may view the display assemblies 20 in front of them.

The amusement ride system 10 includes an augmented reality system 22. Asillustrated, the augmented reality system 22 includes four displayassemblies 20, four facial recognition sensors 24, four skeletalrecognition sensors 26, and four presence sensors 28. However, incertain embodiments, the augmented reality system 22 may include more orfewer display assemblies 20, facial recognition sensors 24, skeletalrecognition sensors 26, and/or presence sensors 28. Additionally oralternatively, the augmented reality system 22 may include other typesof sensors and/or equipment that may detect the guest's head, body,presence, the guest's surroundings, or a combination thereof. In certainembodiments, the augmented reality system 22 may include all or portionsof the ride vehicle 12 and/or the ride path 14. For example, theaugmented reality system 22 may include a presence sensor 28 in eachseat 13 of the ride vehicle 12.

As explained in greater detail below, the augmented reality system 22may provide augmented reality images and animations for viewing and/orinteraction by the guests 16. The augmented reality animations couldinclude graphics or animations overlaid on a captured image or animationof the guest 16 such that the graphics or animation appear to be a partof the guest 16 within the augmented reality animation. Such graphics oranimations could include replacing a guest's facial feature withanimated facial features (e.g., replacing the guest's nose and eyes withan animal's nose and eyes), replacing the guest's head with an animatedhead, replacing the guest's body with an animated body, othermodifications to the captured image or animation of the guest 16. Incertain embodiments, the animation may be displayed on the entiredisplay assembly 20. For example, in such an embodiment, the entireaugmented reality animation is animated and does not include a capturedimage of the guest 16 and/or the guest's surroundings.

The facial recognition sensors 24 are configured to detect facialfeatures of the guests 16. For example, one of the facial recognitionsensors 24 may be positioned in front of a specific guest 16 and maydetect facial features of that guest 16. The facial recognition sensor24 may also detect skeletal features of the guest 16. In certainembodiments, the facial recognition sensor 24 may be a camera configuredto detect facial and/or skeletal features (e.g., a red/blue/green (RGB)detecting camera or a camera with similar detection capabilities). Thefacial recognition sensor 24 may be disposed above and/or may be coupledto the display assembly 20. The facial recognition sensor 24 mayaccurately detect the guest's facial features and may allow the guest 16to interact with the augmented reality system 22 and/or the amusementride system 10. For example, while the guest 16 is viewing an augmentedreality animation on the display assembly 20, the facial recognitionsensor 24 may continue to monitor and detect the guest's facial featuresand may update the augmented reality animation on the display assembly20 based on the guest's moving facial features. The augmented realityanimation may include replacing a portion or all of the guest's facialfeatures with animated facial features (e.g., replacing the guest's nosewith an animated nose). As such, the guest 16 may interact with and/orcontrol the augmented reality animation, via the facial recognitionsensor 24, by moving their facial features and/or head. In certainembodiments, the facial recognition sensor 24 may be mounted to the ridevehicle 12 or to another portion of the amusement ride system 10.

The skeletal recognition sensors 26 are configured to detect skeletalfeatures of the guests 16. For example, the skeletal recognition sensor26 may be a depth sensor disposed in front of a specific guest 16 thatmay detect the guest's head and/or body. The skeletal recognition sensor26 may be a second camera disposed generally above the display assembly20 or may be another type of sensor configured to detect the guest'shead and/or body. The skeletal recognition sensor 26 may be disposedabove and/or may be coupled to the display assembly 20 such that theskeletal recognition sensor 26 may accurately detect the guest's headand/or body and may allow the guest 16 to interact with the augmentedreality system 22 and/or the amusement ride system 10 by moving theirhead and/or body. For example, while the guest 16 is viewing theaugmented reality animation on the display assembly 20, the skeletalrecognition sensor 26 may continue to monitor and detect the guest'shead and/or body and may update the augmented reality animation on thedisplay assembly 20 based on the guest's moving head and/or body. Theaugmented reality animation may include replacing a portion or all ofthe guest's facial features with animated facial features (e.g.,replacing the guest's nose with an animated nose). As such, the guest 16may interact with and/or control the augmented reality animation, viathe skeletal recognition sensor 26, by moving their head and/or body. Incertain embodiments, the skeletal recognition sensor 26 may be mountedto the ride vehicle 12 or to another portion of the amusement ridesystem 10.

The presence sensors 28 are configured to detect a presence of theguests 16 in the ride vehicle 12. For example, the ride vehicle 12 mayinclude a corresponding presence sensor 28 for each seat 13. Thepresence sensor 28 may detect the presence of a guest 16 in the seat 13.For example, the presence sensor 28 may be a pressure sensor configuredto detect a weight of the guest 16 in the seat 13. In certainembodiments, the presence sensor 28 may be the seat restraint 18 for theseat 13. For example, after the guest 16 is positioned in the seat 13,the seat restraint 18 may be secured in a manner that indicates thepresence of the guest 16 in the seat 13. After the presence sensor 28detects the presence of the guest 16, the display assembly 20 mayprovide an augmented reality animation for viewing by the guest 16. Theaugmented reality animation may include an animation that appears to beseated in the seat 13 as shown on the display assembly 20 or may includean animation that takes up the entire screen of the display assembly 20(e.g., does not display a portion of the ride vehicle 12 and/or guest'ssurroundings).

Additionally or alternatively, in certain embodiments, the amusementride system 10 and/or the augmented reality system 22 may includeanimated figures (e.g., animatronics) in place of or in addition to thedisplay assemblies 20. Such animated figures may be robotic figures thatmay be controlled to mimic the guests' movement. For example, theaugmented reality system 22 may control the animated figures based onthe signal(s) received from the facial recognition sensors 24, theskeletal recognition sensors 26, and/or the presence sensors 28 to allowthe guests to interact with the animated figures and the augmentedreality system 22. In some embodiments, the amusement ride system 10and/or the augmented reality system 22 may replace the displayassemblies 20 with the animated figures based on the signals receivedfrom the sensors and/or based on the position of the ride vehicle 12along the ride path 14.

The amusement ride system 10 and/or the augmented reality system 22 mayinclude a controller 40. As illustrated, the controller 40 includes aprocessor 42 and a memory 44. In certain embodiments, the amusement ridesystem 10 and/or the augmented reality system 22 may include additionalcontrollers, processors, memories, or a combination thereof, to performvarious functions. For example, each display assembly 20 may include acontroller configured to receive signals from various sensors, controlan animation on the display assembly 20, communicate with the controller40, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the memory 44 andother memories of the amusement ride system 10 may include one or moretangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media that storeinstructions executable by the processor 42 and/or data to be processedby the processor 42. For example, the memory 44 may include randomaccess memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), rewritable non-volatilememory such as flash memory, hard drives, optical discs, other types ofmemory, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the processor 42 andother processors of the amusement ride system 10 may include one or moregeneral purpose microprocessors, one or more application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), or any combination thereof.

The controller 40 may further include a user interface 46 that mayfacilitate communication between the controller 40 and a user (e.g., anoperator). The user interface 46 may be disposed adjacent to theamusement ride system 10 or at a remote location in the case of aremotely controlled or autonomously operated amusement ride system. Forexample, the user interface 46 may include one or more of a button, akeyboard, a mouse, a trackpad, and/or the like to allow user interactionwith the controller 40. Additionally, the user interface 46 may includean electronic display to provide a visual representation of information,for example, via a graphical user interface (GUI), an applicationinterface, text, a still image, video content, or a combination thereof.The user interface 46 may be configured to receive inputs from a user(e.g., an operator of the amusement ride system 10 and/or the augmentedreality system 22).

In operation, the controller 40, via the processor 42, may receivevarious input signals from sensors throughout the amusement ride system10 and/or the augmented reality system 22. For example, each of thefacial recognition sensors 24, the skeletal recognition sensors 26, andthe presence sensors 28 may output signals indicative of their detectedfeatures (e.g., the guest's detected facial features, head, body,presence) to the controller 40. The signals output by the facialrecognition sensors 24, the skeletal recognition sensors 26, and thepresence sensors 28 may be received at the processor 42 of thecontroller 40. In certain embodiments, each display assembly 20 mayinclude a display controller that receive signals from the facialrecognition sensors 24, the skeletal recognition sensors 26, and thepresence sensors 28. The display controllers may further communicatewith the controller 40 and/or may generate and provide animations to bedisplayed for viewing by the guests 16.

As illustrated, each display assembly 20 is connected to andcommunicates with the controller 40 via a wired connection 48 (e.g.,Ethernet, universal serial bus (USB), canbus, ISObus). For example, eachdisplay assembly 20 may output signals to and receive signals from thecontroller 40 via the wired connection 48. Additionally oralternatively, each display assembly 20 may communicate with thecontroller 40 via a wireless connection. For example, each displayassembly 20 may include a display transceiver that outputs signals toand receives signals from a controller transceiver of the controller 40.Each of the display transceivers and the controller transceiver mayutilize any suitable wireless communication protocol, such as a standardprotocol (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth), or a proprietary protocol.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of an embodiment of the augmented realitysystem 22. As illustrated, the augmented reality system 22 includes thedisplay assembly 20, the facial recognition sensor 24, the skeletalrecognition sensor 26, and the presence sensor 28. The facialrecognition sensor 24 is configured to detect the guest's face andoutput a signal indicative of the guest's face to the controller 40, theskeletal recognition sensor 26 is configured to detect the guest's bodyand output a signal indicative of the guest's body to the controller 40,and the presence sensor 28 is configured to detect the guest's presenceand output a signal indicative of the guest's presence to the controller40. In certain embodiments, the augmented reality system 22 may includeadditional display assemblies 20, facial recognition sensors 24,skeletal recognition sensors 26, and presence sensors 28. Further, theguest 16 may be seated in the seat 13 of the ride vehicle 12 or may bestanding in the ride vehicle 12.

The illustrated embodiment of the display assembly 20 includes a screen50 that provides an augmented reality animation 52 for viewing by theguest 16. As illustrated, the augmented reality animation 52 includes aclown 54 that may be controlled by the guest 16 based on the guest'smovement. In certain embodiments, the augmented reality animation 52 mayinclude other images and animations in addition to, or instead of, theclown 54 (e.g., a barn animal, a cartoon, a character).

In certain embodiments, the controller 40 may include instructions forgenerating and providing the augmented reality animation 52 to bedisplayed on the screen 50 based on the signal(s) received from thefacial recognition sensors 24, the skeletal recognition sensors 26, thepresence sensors 28, or a combination thereof. For example, based on afirst signal indicative of the guest's presence received from thepresence sensor 28, the controller 40 may generate the augmented realityanimation 52 and may provide the augmented reality animation 52 to thedisplay assembly 20 for viewing by the guest 16. The augmented realityanimation 52 may be positioned on the screen 50 at a location generallycorresponding to the position of the guest 16. However, in certainembodiments, the first signal indicative of the guest's presence doesnot, by itself, allow interaction between the guest 16 and certain orall augmented reality animations.

In response to receiving a second signal indicative of the guest's bodyfrom the skeletal recognition sensor 26, the controller 40 may updatethe augmented reality animation 52 based on the guest's body. Forexample, if the controller 40 initially received the first signalindicative of the guest's presence as described above and subsequentlyreceived the second signal indicative of the guest's body, thecontroller 40 may update the augmented reality animation 52 to mimicmovement of the guest's body. In certain embodiments, if the controller40 simultaneously receives both the first signal indicative of theguest's presence from the presence sensor 28 and the second signalindicative of the guest's body from the skeletal recognition sensor 26,the controller 40 may generate the augmented reality animation 52 basedon the guest's body. For example, the augmented reality animation 52 maybe an animation that mimics movement of the guest 16. In this manner,the controller 40 may allow the guest 16 to control a body of theaugmented reality animation 52.

In response to receiving a third signal indicative of the guest's faceand/or body from the facial recognition sensor 24, the controller 40 maygenerate or update the augmented reality animation 52 based on theguest's face and/or body. For example, if the controller 40 receives thefirst signal indicative of the guest's presence from the presence sensor28, the second signal indicative of the guest's body from the skeletalrecognition sensor 26, and the third signal indicative of the guest'sface and/or body from the facial recognition sensor 24, the controller40 may generate the augmented reality animation 52 based on the guest'sface and/or body. The augmented reality animation 52 may includeportions of a video feed such as captured images/video of the guest 16,of the ride vehicle 12, and/or the guest's surrounding (e.g., a videofeed captured by the facial recognition sensor 24). The augmentedreality animation 52 may also include animations overlaid on the videofeed such that the animations appear to be part of the guest 16 and/orpart of the video feed. For example, the augmented reality animation 52may include portions of a captured video (e.g., live video feed) of theguest 16 positioned within the ride vehicle 12 and animations thatappear to be part of the guest 16 and/or part of the guest'ssurroundings. The animation may include replacing some of the guest'sfacial features, body parts, the entire guest's body, or a combinationthereof. In this manner, the controller 40 may allow the guest 16 tocontrol facial features and/or a head of the augmented reality animation52. In certain embodiments, the controller 40 may generate and providethe augmented reality animation 52 based on both the second signalindicative of the guest's body and the third signal indicative of theguest's face and/or body to allow the guest 16 to interact with andcontrol both a body and facial features of the augmented realityanimation 52. Additionally, the controller 40 may update a previouslygenerated augmented reality animation 52 that was based on the guest'spresence and/or body to include control of the facial features. Thefacial recognition sensor 24, along with the skeletal recognition sensor26 and the presence sensor 28, may continue to detect and output signalsto the controller 40. As the controller 40 receives each of the signals,the controller 40 generates and/or updates the augmented realityanimation 52 based on the received signals.

In certain embodiments, the amusement ride system 10 may includeelements that prevent certain sensors from detecting a guest's features(e.g., face and body). For example, as the ride vehicle 12 travels alongthe ride path 14, elements of the amusement ride system 10 may preventcertain sensors of the facial recognition sensors 24 and the skeletalrecognition sensors 26 from detecting and/or tracking the guest'srespective features (e.g., face and body). If a given sensor (e.g., thefacial recognition sensor 24 or the skeletal recognition sensor 26) isnot able to detect the guest 16, the controller 40 may generate andprovide the augmented reality animation based on a signal received fromanother sensor (e.g., the skeletal recognition sensor 26 or the presencesensor 28).

For example, if the controller 40 first receives the signal indicativeof the guest's body from the skeletal recognition sensor 26 and does notreceive the signal indicative of the guest's face from the facialrecognition sensor 24, the controller 40 may generate and provide theaugmented reality animation 52 to the display assembly 20 based on theguest's body. Further, if the controller 40 receives the signalindicative of the guest's presence from the presence sensor 28 and doesnot receive the signal indicative of the guest's face or the signalindicative of the guest's body, the controller 40 may generate andprovide the augmented reality animation 52 to the display assembly 20based on the guest's presence. However, after receiving the signalindicative of the guest's presence from the presence sensor 28, if thecontroller 40 receives the signal indicative of the guest's face fromthe facial recognition sensor 24 or the signal indicative of the guest'sbody from the skeletal recognition sensor 26, the controller 40 wouldthen generate an updated augmented reality animation 52 based on thenewly received signal (e.g., the signal indicative of the guest's faceand/or body from the facial recognition sensor 24 or the signalindicative of the guest's body from the skeletal recognition sensor 26).In this manner, the augmented reality animation 52 or the guest'sability to control the augmented reality animation 52 may change basedon the signals received by the controller 40 from the various sensors.

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of an embodiment of the augmented realitysystem 22. As illustrated, the augmented reality system 22 includes fourdisplay assemblies 20, four facial recognition sensors 24, four skeletalrecognition sensors 26, and four presence sensors 28. In certainembodiments, the augmented reality system 22 may include more or fewerdisplay assemblies 20, facial recognition sensors 24, skeletalrecognition sensors 26, presence sensors 28, or a combination thereof.Additionally, each display assembly 20 may be controlled by anindependent controller (e.g., the controller 40 of FIGS. 1 and 2)configured to provide the augmented reality animation 52 to be displayedon the display assembly 20. For example, the controller 40 may receivesignals from a corresponding facial recognition sensor 24, acorresponding skeletal recognition sensor 26, a corresponding presencesensor 28, or a combination thereof, and may generate the augmentedreality animation 52 based on the received signals. In certainembodiments, a single controller may receive signals from all thesensors of the augmented reality system 22 and may control all thedisplay assemblies 20.

In certain embodiments, the amusement ride system 10 and/or theaugmented reality system 22 may include a display assembly that displaysmultiple augmented reality animations. For example, the single displayassembly may be viewable by multiple guests 16 and may display anaugmented reality animation 52 for each guest 16. The controller maygenerate multiple augmented reality animations 52 for each guest 16 andprovide the multiple augmented reality animations 52 to the singledisplay assembly.

The controller of each display assembly 20 may provide varying augmentedreality animations 52 for each display assembly 20. For example, theaugmented reality animation 52 displayed on each screen 50 is differentin the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3. The guests viewing and/orinteracting with the display assemblies 20 may have varying levels ofcontrol over the augmented reality animation 52 displayed on theirrespective display assembly 20. For example, a first guest positionedadjacent to a first display assembly 20A may be able to control facialfeatures and/or body movement of the augmented reality animation 52displayed on the first display assembly 20A based on a corresponding oneof the facial recognition sensors 24 being able to detect the firstguest's facial features and/or body. A second guest positioned adjacentto a second display assembly 20B may be able to control body movement ofthe augmented reality animation 52 displayed on the second displayassembly 20B based on a corresponding one of the skeletal recognitionsensors 26 being able to detect the second guest's body. A third guestpositioned adjacent to a third display assembly 20C may control both thebody movement and the facial features of the augmented reality animation52 displayed on the third display assembly 20C based on a facialrecognition sensor 24 being able to detect the third guest's facialfeatures and/or body and based on a skeletal recognition sensor 26 beingable to detect the third guest's body. A fourth guest positionedadjacent to a fourth display assembly 20D may be able to view theaugmented reality animation 52 displayed on the fourth display assembly20D based on a presence sensor 28 being able to detect the fourthguest's presence (e.g., in the ride vehicle 12). In some embodiments, asdescribed herein, some or all of the screens 50 may be replaced withanimated figures (e.g., animatronics) that generally mimic the guests'movement.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 60 for generatingand/or updating the augmented reality animation 52 of FIGS. 2 and 3.Although shown in a particular sequence, it should be noted that theoperations described with respect to the method 60 may be performed indifferent orders than shown and described and, indeed, such permutationsof the method 60 are encompassed by the present disclosure. The method60 may be performed by the augmented reality system 22, for example bythe controller 40. The controller 40 may first receive an indicationthat the ride vehicle 12 of FIG. 1 has reached a position in frontand/or adjacent to the display assemblies 20, as indicated by block 62.For example, the controller 40 may receive the indication from a secondcontroller of the amusement ride system 10. The second controller may beconfigured to track a location of the ride vehicle 12 along the ridepath 14 and output signals to the controller 40 indicative of thelocation of the ride vehicle 12.

In certain embodiments, the controller 40 may receive an indication thata ride sequence has started. The memory 44 of the controller 40 maystore ride path data that includes information about the ride vehicle'sposition along the ride path 14 as a function of time and/or otherfactors. Based on an amount of elapsed time and/or based on the otherfactors, the controller 40 may determine that the ride vehicle 12 hasreached the position in front of and/or adjacent to the displayassemblies 20. In certain embodiments, the block 62 of the method 60 maybe omitted such that an indication that a ride sequence has startedand/or an indication that the ride vehicle 12 has reached the positionadjacent to the display assemblies 20 is not necessarily used.

Next, the controller 40 may receive an indication of the guest 16 fromany of the facial recognition sensors 24, the skeletal recognitionsensors 26, and the presence sensors 28. For example, at block 64, thecontroller 40 may receive an indication of the guest's presence from thepresence sensor 28. At block 66, the controller 40 may receive anindication of the guest's body from the skeletal recognition sensor 26.At block 68, the controller 40 may receive an indication of the guest'sface and/or body from the facial recognition sensor 24.

Based on the received indication of the guest 16, the controller 40 maygenerate and/or update the augmented reality animation 52 and providethe generated and/or updated augmented reality animation 52 to therespective display assembly 20. For example, at block 70, based on theindication of the guest's presence, the controller 40 maygenerate/update and provide the augmented reality animation 52 to thedisplay assembly 20. The display assembly 20 may display the augmentedreality animation 52 in a position corresponding to the guest's presencein the ride vehicle 12 for viewing by the guest 16.

At block 72, based on the indication of the guest's body, the controller40 may generate/update and provide the augmented reality animation 52 tothe display and allow the guest 16 to view and interact with theaugmented reality animation 52 displayed on the display assembly 20. Theguest 16 may move their body (e.g., head, arms, torso), and thecontroller 40 may update the augmented reality animation 52 to generallymatch the movement of the guest's body for viewing by the guest 16. Atblock 74, based on the indication of the guest's face and/or body, thecontroller 40 may generate/update and provide the augmented realityanimation 52 to allow the guest 16 to view and interact with theaugmented reality animation 52 displayed on the display assembly 20. Theguest 16 may move their facial features (e.g., eyes, eyebrows, nose,mouth) and/or body, and the controller 40 may update the augmentedreality animation 52 to generally match the movement of the guest'sfacial features and/or body (e.g., a happy face, a sad face, a laughingface, movement of eyes, movement of a mouth, and movement of otherfacial features of the augmented reality animation 52) for viewing bythe guest 16.

The controller 40 may determine which indication to use to generateand/or update the augmented reality animation 52 based upon an amount ofinteraction the indication and corresponding augmented reality animation52 would allow the guest 16. For example, if the controller 40 receivesboth the indication of the guest's presence from the presence sensor 28(e.g., the signal indicative of the guest's presence from the presencesensor 28) and the indication of the guest's face and/or body from thefacial recognition sensor 24, the controller 40 may generate and/orupdate the augmented reality animation 52 based on the guest's faceand/or body. This will allow the guest 16 greater interaction with theamusement ride system 10 by allowing the guest 16 to move their facialfeatures and to view the augmented reality animation 52 with similarmovement.

By way of another example, if the controller 40 receives both theindication of the guest's presence from the presence sensor 28 and theindication of the guest's body from the skeletal recognition sensor 26,the controller 40 may generate and/or update the augmented realityanimation 52 based on the guest's body. Further, if the controller 40receives both the indication of the guest's body from the skeletalrecognition sensor 26 and the indication of the guest's face and/or bodyfrom the facial recognition sensor 24, the controller 40 may generateand/or update the augmented reality animation 52 based on the guest'sface and/or body. In certain embodiments, the controller 40 may generateand/or update the augmented reality animation based on the indication ofthe guest's body received from the skeletal recognition sensor 26 andthe indication of the guest's face and/or body received from the facialrecognition sensor 24 to allow the guest 16 to interact with both a bodyand a face of the augmented reality animation 52.

After generating and/or updating the augmented reality animation 52, themethod 60 may proceed to query 76. At query 76, the controller 40 maydetermine whether the ride vehicle is still in the position in front ofand/or adjacent to the display assembly 20. For example, the controller40 may receive a signal from the second controller that the ride vehicle12 is still in the position or may determine that the ride vehicle 12 isstill in the position based on information stored in the memory 44 ofthe controller 40. Based on a determination that the ride vehicle 12 isstill in the position in front of and/or adjacent to the displayassembly 20, the method 60 may return to any of blocks 64, 66, or 68. Assuch, the controller 40 may continue to receive indication(s) of theguest 16 and may update the augmented reality animation 52 by on theindication(s).

Based on a determination that the ride vehicle 12 is not in the positionin front of and/or adjacent to the display assembly 20, the controller40 may stop providing the augmented reality animation 52 to the displayassembly 20, as indicated by the block 78. For example, the controller40 may stop outputting signals to the display assembly 20 indicative ofthe update augmented reality animation 52. In response, the displayassembly 20 may stop displaying the augmented reality animation 52. Inthis situation, the controller 40 may cause the display assembly 20 toshow a canned animation, a blank screen, or another feature.

The controller 40 may iteratively perform each of the blocks and query64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, and 76 to generate and provide the augmentedreality animation 52 for viewing by the guest 16. For example, afterinitially generating and providing the augmented reality animation 52,the controller 40 may receive additional signal(s) from the facialrecognition sensor 24, the skeletal recognition sensor 26, the presencesensor 28, or a combination thereof, and may update and provide theupdated augmented reality animation 52 to the display assembly 20. Assuch, the controller 40 may update the augmented reality animation 52based on the guest's movement of their body and/or facial features. Theguest 16 may view each version of the augmented reality animation 52,and may continue to move their body and/or facial features to cause theaugmented reality animation 52 to move. In this manner, the guest 16 mayinteract with and/or control the augmented reality animation 52. Assuch, the augmented reality system 22 may provide an interactiveenvironment that provides entertainment for the guests 16.

While only certain features of the disclosure have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications and changes will occur to thoseskilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appendedclaims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fallwithin the true spirit of the disclosure.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

1. An augmented reality system for an amusement ride, comprising: afacial recognition sensor configured to detect a guest's face; askeletal recognition sensor configured to detect a guest's body; apresence sensor configured to detect a guest's presence; and acontroller comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the controlleris configured to: generate an augmented reality animation based on afirst signal indicative of the guest's presence received from thepresence sensor; in response to receiving a second signal indicative ofthe guest's body from the skeletal recognition sensor, update theaugmented reality animation based on the guest's body; and in responseto receiving a third signal indicative of the guest's face from thefacial recognition sensor, update the augmented reality animation basedon the guest's face.
 2. The augmented reality system of claim 1, whereinthe augmented reality animation generated based on the first signalcomprises an animation that mimics the guest's presence.
 3. Theaugmented reality system of claim 1, wherein the augmented realityanimation generated based on the guest's body comprises an animationthat mimics movement of the guest's body.
 4. The augmented realitysystem of claim 1, wherein the augmented reality animation generatedbased on the guest's face comprises an animation that mimics movement ofguest's facial features.
 5. The augmented reality system of claim 1,wherein receiving the second signal or the third signal allows the guestto control the augmented reality animation.
 6. The augmented realitysystem of claim 1, wherein the presence sensor is disposed in a seat ofthe amusement ride.
 7. The augmented reality system of claim 1, whereinthe skeletal recognition sensor and the facial recognition sensor arecameras.
 8. The augmented reality system of claim 7, wherein thecontroller provides the augmented reality animation to a displayassembly for viewing by the guest.
 9. An amusement ride system,comprising: a ride vehicle positioned on a ride path and configured tocarry a guest; a facial recognition sensor configured to detect theguest's face; a skeletal recognition sensor configured to detect theguest's body; a presence sensor configured to detect the guest'spresence in the ride vehicle; and a controller comprising a processorand a memory, wherein the controller is configured to: generate anaugmented reality animation based on a first signal indicative of theguest's presence received from the presence sensor; in response toreceiving a second signal indicative of the guest's body from theskeletal recognition sensor, update the augmented reality animationbased on the guest's body; and in response to receiving a third signalindicative of the guest's face from the facial recognition sensor,update the augmented reality animation based on the guest's face. 10.The amusement ride system of claim 9, wherein the third signalindicative of the guest's face comprises an indication of the guest'sfacial features.
 11. The amusement ride system of claim 9, wherein theguest's presence comprises a position in the ride vehicle.
 12. Theamusement ride system of claim 9, comprising a display assembly, whereinthe controller is configured to provide the augmented reality animationto the display assembly for viewing by the guest.
 13. The amusement ridesystem of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to update theaugmented reality animation based on updated signals from the skeletalrecognition sensor, the facial recognition sensor, or both.
 14. Theamusement ride system of claim 9, wherein the facial recognition sensorcomprises an RGB camera.
 15. A method for generating an augmentedreality animation for an amusement ride, comprising: receiving anindication of a guest's presence, and, in response to receiving theindication of the guest's presence, generating the augmented realityanimation; receiving an indication of a guest's body, and, in responseto receiving the indication of a guest's body, updating the augmentedreality animation; and receiving an indication of a guest's face, and,in response to receiving the indication of a guest's face, updating theaugmented reality animation.
 16. The method of claim 15, comprisingdisplaying the augmented reality animation on a display assembly. 17.The method of claim 15, comprising detecting the indication of theguest's presence with a presence sensor.
 18. The method of claim 15,comprising detecting the indication of the guest's body with a skeletalrecognition sensor.
 19. The method of claim 15, comprising detecting theindication of the guest's face with a facial recognition sensor.
 20. Themethod of claim 15, wherein updating the augmented reality animationallows the guest to control the augmented reality animation.